Family Practice physicians require
an EMR software program that is designed specifically
for their workflow. In a Family Physician office
it is common to have patients with multiple complaints,
patients with multiple family members needing
to be seen, and other problems, which appear to
be unique to family physicians.
When a Family Physician starts to search for an
appropriate EMR solution, s/he should carefully
consider their own personal practice parameters.
They should consider how many patients they see
daily, and what their current workflow is, how
they create their medical records, and what their
tolerance is for change in their practice.
There are many EMRs that are specific for individual
specialties. Family Physicians, however, most
frequently will purchase a product, which is appropriate
for a wide variety of specialists, rather than
one, which has been designed specifically for
Family Practice environments.
Features of Family Practice EMR include: |
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1.
The ability to have multiple complaints evaluated
during each visit.
2. Family Practice templates for common conditions
such as: |
- Respiratory: Sore Throat, Sinusitis, Pneumonia,
Influenza
- Musculoskeletal: Back Pain, Neck Pain, Joint
Pain
- Cardiovascular: Chest Pain, Palpitations,
Hypertension
- Immunization Tracking
- Allergy: Rhinitis
- Dermatologic: Rashes, Acne, Lesions
- Gastrointestinal: Nausea, Vomiting, Diarrhea
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3.
A willingness to have the EMR Vendor assist with
customization of Family Practice templates that
match the templates you have been using
4. Physical Exam templates
5. Growth Charts
6. Excuse Templates for School, Work |
- Various State Mandated Forms
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7.
Annual Check-up
8. Patient Education for Family Practice complaints
9. Images for Family Practices
10. Health Maintenance Reminders
11. Interconnectivity with various medical products
including: |
- EKG machines
- Blood Pressure / Vitals Machines
- Blood Oxygenation
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12.
Pediatric Dosage calculator
13. DOQ-IT compatibility
14. Multiple Lab Interfaces |
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| The
benefits that can be achieved by a successful
Family Practice EMR / EHR
implementation include: |
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| 1.
Increased productivity by |
- Immediate access to charts 24/7
- Immediate access to dictated information
- More rapid billing of encounters
- Improved utilization of office space
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| 2.
Improved medical care |
- Immediate access to medical information
- Ability to use clinical practice guidelines
to assist with diagnostic and treatment options
- Better attention to alerts including abnormal
lab results
- Lower probability of medication errors
- Medication interaction checking
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| 3.
Lower expenses |
- Diminished transcription costs
- Lowered costs for paper and supplies
- No costs for chart pulls
- Lower staff expenses
- May lower malpractice expenses
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| 4.
Increased Revenue |
- Improved E&M coding accuracy and better
ability to withstand an audit
- Improved eligibility capabilities
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| 5.
Improved Reputation |
- Improved legibility of records
- Standardization of records
- Better interoperability with other practices,
laboratories, pharmacies, etc.
- Being a more modern physician
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| Family
Practice EHR Templates |
- ECG Templates
- Abdominal Pain Templates
- Chest Pain Templates
- Physical Exam Templates
- Growth/BMI Charts
- Well/Sick Child Exam Templates
- Well/Sick Baby Exam Templates
- Flu Templates
- School Excuse Templates
- Allergy Templates
- And many more Family Practice EHR templates
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| Family
Practice EMR Features |
- Immunization Tracking
- Immunization/Health Maintenance Reminders
- Pediatric Dosage Calculator
- Flu Templates
- CHDP Forms (California)
- Client/Server or ASP based
- E&M Coding Assistance for Family Practitioners
- PDR-Based Prescription Writing
- Lab Interface (Quest, LabCorp, etc.)
- Custom Decision Support (ADE, Coding)
- Billing/Scheduling Software Interface
- Document/Image Management
- Tablet PC Enabled and customized for Family
Practice Templates
- HL7 Custom Interfaces
- Online Patient Portal customized for the
family Physician
- And many more Family Practice EMR features...
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